Mia's scream still echoed throughout the chamber.
The stones were still falling.
Dust remained scattered through the air.
And no one moved.
Not even the shadows.
Not even Alexius.
Not even the Zaraqnil.
Because everyone was looking at the same place.
At the enormous hole opened in the wall.
At the figure that was slowly beginning to rise.
Silence became heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Wrong.
Arthur placed one hand against the shattered wall.
Fragments of stone slid from his shoulders.
Blue energy still coursed through parts of his body.
But now it was mixed.
Mixed with something dark.
Something that should not have been there.
Black smoke danced around him in slow spirals.
It did not look like mana.
It did not look like energy.
It felt like a presence.
A living thing.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then his eyes opened completely.
The left glowed blue.
The right glowed red.
The pressure that filled the chamber caused several students to instinctively step back.
Even the remaining shadows seemed restless.
Then he placed a hand over his own stomach.
Like someone checking a wound.
Or searching for something that should have been there.
His gaze lowered.
His expression changed.
Confusion.
Unease.
Discomfort.
— Hm...
The voice sounded different.
Deeper.
Slower.
Emptier.
— What happened?
He lightly pressed his stomach.
As if trying to understand.
— That monster...
— It struck my forehead.
— And pierced my stomach.
Silence.
Then his eyes narrowed.
— But I'm still alive.
The Zaraqnil watched.
Motionless.
Her crimson eyes fixed upon him.
Something inside her was screaming.
Something ancient.
Something she recognized.
— Azuri...
Her voice came out almost as a whisper.
He slowly raised his head.
The movement was strange.
Too slow.
Like someone awakening from a dream.
— Who are you?
The question came out hollow.
Without emotion.
— And who do you think you are to speak to me that way?
The Zaraqnil remained staring.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The presence was familiar.
And yet completely different.
She lowered her eyes for a moment.
Trying to understand.
Trying to feel.
Trying to recognize.
— Your presence...
— It's different.
— A moment ago, it was something else.
— Now...
She lifted her head.
And froze.
He was standing in front of her.
Less than a meter away.
No one saw him move.
Not Alexius.
Not Mia.
Not Shirō.
Not Ayame.
Not even the Zaraqnil herself.
One instant he was far away.
The next, he was there.
Watching.
Without blinking.
Without expression.
The black smoke slowly revolved around his body.
The Zaraqnil stepped back on pure instinct.
The movement was immediate.
Before her mind even understood why.
She simply retreated.
And that frightened her.
Because it had been a very long time since she had felt fear.
[Arthur] tilted his head slightly.
Then looked at his own hands.
Opened his fingers.
Closed them.
Observed them.
Like someone experiencing a body for the first time.
— Strange.
He raised an arm.
The black smoke followed the motion.
— This body...
— It looks like mine.
— But it isn't.
His gaze dropped to his chest.
— There is no darkness inside it.
— Only around it.
The black smoke spun once more.
Like invisible threads connected to his skin.
— It cannot fully penetrate.
— Interesting.
The Zaraqnil felt a chill run through her.
Because this did not sound like someone thinking.
It sounded like someone studying a vessel.
Then she finally spoke.
— You are not him.
Silence overtook the chamber.
[Arthur] remained motionless.
— What?
— You are not the Azuri I know.
Her crimson eyes remained fixed upon him.
— You are merely a copy.
Everything stopped.
The black smoke froze.
The blue energy vanished.
For a single second.
One single second.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM.
Dark energy exploded.
The ground collapsed.
Cracks stretched across dozens of meters.
The students immediately retreated.
And for the first time, an emotion appeared on his face.
Rage.
Pure.
Violent.
Uncontrolled.
— Copy...?
His voice trembled.
Not from fear.
From hatred.
— Do not call me that.
The stone beneath his feet exploded.
And he vanished.
The Zaraqnil barely had time to widen her eyes.
His fist struck her stomach.
The impact came first.
The sound came afterward.
BOOOOOOOOOM.
The space around them warped.
Her body folded.
Her mouth opened.
No sound emerged.
Then he twisted his wrist.
Just once.
The movement seemed simple.
But the consequence was monstrous.
The Zaraqnil was hurled across the entire chamber.
Spinning.
Uncontrollably.
Like a doll thrown by a storm.
She crashed through pillars.
Destroyed stone.
Opened a crater in the opposite wall.
And disappeared into it.
The roar took seconds to fade.
Silence.
No one could believe what they had just witnessed.
Not even Alexius.
Then [Arthur] turned his head.
Slowly.
His eyes stopped on the Primordial Sword.
The sword Alexius still held.
The primordial spirit saw him.
And began to scream.
Scream in fear.
Absolute fear.
Primal.
Instinctive.
— Nooooo...
— No...
[Arthur] stared at the sword.
Like someone staring at a lost possession.
— Hm.
Then he smiled.
A small smile.
Sad.
Unsettling.
— That sword...
He took a step.
Slow.
Dragging.
Like someone carrying the weight of an entire world.
Another step.
His body swayed slightly.
Not from weakness.
But because he no longer seemed to care about balance.
Or posture.
Or dignity.
Like someone who had already lost everything.
— It belongs to me.
Alexius immediately raised the sword.
Instinctively.
Preparing to fight.
But [Arthur] was already standing before him.
Again.
No transition.
No movement.
No explanation.
Simply there.
The blue and red eyes staring into his.
His hand beginning to reach toward the sword.
And then—
— ARTHUR!
The scream echoed through the chamber.
Everything stopped.
[Arthur] froze.
His hand remained suspended in the air.
Only centimeters from the sword.
The primordial spirit was still trembling.
But he did not seem to hear it.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He turned only his neck.
Nothing else.
Only his neck.
Until his eyes found Mia.
The silence became suffocating.
She was alive.
There.
In front of him.
Breathing.
Looking at him.
Alive.
His lips trembled.
Almost imperceptibly.
— No...
The voice came out low.
Confused.
He took a step.
And appeared before her.
The displacement was so fast that the air exploded behind him.
Mia could not even react.
Now he stood only inches away.
Watching.
Studying.
Like someone staring at a ghost.
— That's impossible.
His eyes trembled.
For the first time.
— You died.
Silence.
— I saw you die.
His voice began to break.
— You disappeared.
— Right in front of me.
He brought one hand to his head.
The black smoke spun violently.
Like a storm losing control.
— No...
— No...
— This is wrong.
— It didn't happen like this.
His blue and red eyes widened.
— How are you alive?
He began to laugh.
Softly.
Almost without sound.
A broken laugh.
Painful.
Paranoid.
— He did it...
— He actually did it...
The laughter grew.
— You're alive.
— Right in front of me.
— And I watched you die.
His hand trembled.
— You left a void.
— A massive void.
— And now I can't even stay here.
He looked at his own hand.
The black smoke was unstable.
The blue energy was reacting.
Something inside that body was fighting.
Trying to return.
Trying to resist.
[Arthur] smiled again.
This time with sadness.
— Then it hurts a little.
He slowly raised his hand.
— But I think I'll take you with me.
Mia froze.
Her instincts screamed.
But too late.
His hand shot forward.
And closed around her throat.
His fingers tightened.
Black smoke exploded around them.
The ground cracked.
The pressure swept through the entire chamber.
Mia's eyes widened.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to speak.
Alexius moved immediately.
The Primordial Sword erupted into flames.
Shirō moved.
Ayame reacted.
Kidero charged forward.
All at once.
But no one knew.
If they would arrive in time.